Measurement for fast cell access

ABSTRACT

The example embodiments of the invention provide at least a method and apparatus to measure, by a user equipment, a communication quality with at least one measured cell of a communication node while the user equipment is in an idle or inactive state; upon the user equipment transitioning to a connected state, determine by the user equipment that the communication quality with the at least one measured cell is larger than a threshold; and transmit information comprising a measurement report from the user equipment to a network equipment that the at least one measured cell meets the threshold for the network equipment to signal the user equipment to configure communication with the at least one measured cell without further measurements from the user equipment. Further, a method and apparatus to receive by a network equipment information comprising a measurement report from a user equipment which is waking from an idle or inactive state and seeking access to a sewing cell communication, wherein the measurement report comprises an identification of a cell which met a communication quality threshold with the user equipment while the user equipment was in the idle or inactive state; compare the measurement report received by the network equipment from the user equipment to a predetermined threshold value, wherein based on the comparing the network equipment is caused to configure communication with the cell without further measurements from the user equipment, wherein based on the comparing the network equipment is caused to configure communication with the cell without further measurements from the user equipment; and send a signal from the network equipment to the user equipment with instructions for the user equipment to configure communication with the cell without further measurements from the user equipment.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/764,921, filed on May 18, 2020, which is a U.S. NationalStage application of International Patent Application NumberPCT/EP2018/081336 filed Nov. 15, 2018, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety, and claims priority to U.S. 62/587,560 filedNov. 17, 2017 which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The exemplary and non-limiting embodiments relate generally tocommunications and, more particularly, to access by a user equipment(UE) to a network.

Embodiments of the invention generally relate to wireless or cellularcommunications networks, such as, but not limited to, the UniversalMobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network(UTRAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE) Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), LTE-Advanced(LTE-A), LTE-A Pro, and/or 5G radio access technology and/or new radio(NR) access technology. Some embodiments may generally relate to LTE/NRand, more specifically, to enabling fast cell access (such as a smallcell for example) from idle or inactive state to connected state, forexample.

The following abbreviations that may be found in the specificationand/or the drawing figures are defined as follows:

-   -   CA Carrier Aggregation    -   CF Carrier Frequency    -   CRS Cell specific Reference Signal    -   CSI-RS Channel State Information Reference Signal    -   DC Dual Connectivity    -   eNB E-UTRAN Node B    -   euCA Enhanced utilization of carrier aggregation    -   E-UTRA Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)        Terrestrial Radio Access    -   E-UTRAN Evolved UTRAN    -   FDD Frequency Division Duplex    -   HetNet Heterogenous Network    -   MDT Minimization of Drive Tests    -   MO Mobile Originated    -   MT Mobile Terminated    -   NW Networks    -   PCell Primary cell    -   QoS Quality of Service    -   RAT Radio Access Technology    -   Rel. Release    -   RRC Radio resource control    -   RSRP Reference Signal Received Power    -   RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality    -   RS-SINR Reference Signal—Signal to Interference Noise Ratio    -   SCell Secondary cell    -   TDD Time Division Duplex    -   UE User Equipment    -   WLAN Wireless Local Area Network    -   WID Work Item description    -   WiFi wireless local area networking with devices based on the        IEEE 802.11 standards

SUMMARY

In an example aspect of the invention, there is a method comprising:measuring, by a user equipment, a communication quality with at leastone measured cell of a communication node while the user equipment is inan idle or inactive state; upon the user equipment transitioning to aconnected state, determining by the user equipment that thecommunication quality with the at least one measured cell is larger thana threshold; and transmitting information comprising a measurementreport from the user equipment to a network equipment that the at leastone measured cell meets the threshold for the network equipment tosignal the user equipment to configure communication with the at leastone measured cell without further measurements from the user equipment.

A further example embodiment is a method comprising the method of theprevious paragraph, wherein the measurement report comprises a durationof time in which the at least one measured cell has met the threshold;wherein the at least one measured cell comprises a secondary cell, andwherein the communication quality is based on a measurement reliabilitycondition; wherein the information is based on a measurement report of acell of the at least one measured cell with a best measurementreliability condition; wherein the measurement reliability condition isdetermined based on a quality condition preconfigured by the network forthe user equipment; wherein the quality condition is preconfigured forthe user equipment by the network via one of dedicated or broadcastsignaling; wherein the duration of time is related to a reliabilitycondition of the measurement report comprising a duration of time sincea last measurement of the cell; wherein the duration of time is since alast measurement when the cell was not fulfilling the configured qualitycondition; wherein upon the user equipment transitioning to theconnected state there is starting, by the user equipment, a timer torecord the duration of time that the communication quality with the atleast one measured cell has met the threshold; wherein the timer isconfigured by the network for the user equipment; and wherein the timeris stopped based on one of the user equipment leaving the idle orinactive state, and based on the user equipment not obtainingmeasurements during the length of time.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program code, theprogram code executed by at least one processor to perform at least themethod as described in the paragraphs above.

In yet another example aspect of the invention, there is an apparatus,such as a user equipment or mobile equipment apparatus, comprising:means for measuring, by a user equipment, a communication quality withat least one measured cell of a communication node while the userequipment is in an idle or inactive state; means, upon the userequipment transitioning to a connected state, for determining by theuser equipment that the communication quality with the at least onemeasured cell is larger than a threshold; and means for transmittinginformation comprising a measurement report from the user equipment to anetwork equipment that the at least one measured cell meets thethreshold for the network equipment to signal the user equipment toconfigure communication with the at least one measured cell withoutfurther measurements from the user equipment.

A further example embodiment is an apparatus comprising the apparatus ofthe previous paragraph, wherein the measurement report comprises aduration of time in which the at least one measured cell has met thethreshold; wherein the at least one measured cell comprises a secondarycell, and wherein the communication quality is based on a measurementreliability condition; wherein the information is based on a measurementreport of a cell of the at least one measured cell with a bestmeasurement reliability condition; wherein the measurement reliabilitycondition is determined based on a quality condition preconfigured bythe network for the user equipment; wherein the quality condition ispreconfigured for the user equipment by the network via one of dedicatedor broadcast signaling; wherein the duration of time is related to areliability condition of the measurement report comprising a duration oftime since a last measurement of the cell; wherein the duration of timeis since a last measurement when the cell was not fulfilling theconfigured quality condition; wherein upon the user equipmenttransitioning to the connected state there is means for starting, by theuser equipment, a timer to record the duration of time that thecommunication quality with the at least one measured cell has met thethreshold; wherein the timer is configured by the network for the userequipment; and wherein the timer is stopped based on one of the userequipment leaving the idle or inactive state, and based on the userequipment not obtaining measurements during the length of time.

In another example aspect of the invention, there is an apparatuscomprising: means for measuring, by a user equipment, a communicationquality with at least one measured cell of a communication node whilethe user equipment is in an idle or inactive state; means, upon the userequipment transitioning to a connected state, for determining by theuser equipment that the communication quality with the at least onemeasured cell is larger than a threshold; and means for transmittinginformation comprising a measurement report from the user equipment to anetwork equipment that the at least one measured cell meets thethreshold for the network equipment to signal the user equipment toconfigure communication with the at least one measured cell withoutfurther measurements from the user equipment.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in the paragraphabove, at least the means for measuring, determining, and transmittingcomprises a network interface, and computer program code stored on acomputer-readable medium and executed by at least one processor.

A further example embodiment is an apparatus comprising the apparatus ofthe previous paragraph, wherein the measurement report comprises aduration of time in which the at least one measured cell has met thethreshold; wherein the at least one measured cell comprises a secondarycell, and wherein the communication quality is based on a measurementreliability condition; wherein the information is based on a measurementreport of a cell of the at least one measured cell with a bestmeasurement reliability condition; wherein the measurement reliabilitycondition is determined based on a quality condition preconfigured bythe network for the user equipment; wherein the quality condition ispreconfigured for the user equipment by the network via one of dedicatedor broadcast signaling; wherein the duration of time is related to areliability condition of the measurement report comprising a duration oftime since a last measurement of the cell; wherein the duration of timeis since a last measurement when the cell was not fulfilling theconfigured quality condition; wherein upon the user equipmenttransitioning to the connected state there is means for starting, by theuser equipment, a timer to record the duration of time that thecommunication quality with the at least one measured cell has met thethreshold; wherein the timer is configured by the network for the userequipment; and wherein the timer is stopped based on one of the userequipment leaving the idle or inactive state, and based on the userequipment not obtaining measurements during the length of time.

In another example aspect of the invention, there is a methodcomprising: receiving by a network equipment information comprising ameasurement report from a user equipment which is waking from an idle orinactive state and seeking access to a serving cell communication,wherein the measurement report comprises an identification of a cellwhich met a communication quality threshold with the user equipmentwhile the user equipment was in the idle or inactive state; comparingthe measurement report received by the network equipment from the userequipment to a predetermined threshold value, wherein based on thecomparing the network equipment is caused to configure communicationwith the cell without further measurements from the user equipment,wherein based on the comparing the network equipment is caused toconfigure communication with the cell without further measurements fromthe user equipment; and sending a signal from the network equipment tothe user equipment with instructions for the user equipment to configurecommunication with the cell without further measurements from the userequipment.

A further example embodiment is a method comprising the method of theprevious paragraph, wherein the cell comprises a secondary cell, andwherein the communication quality threshold is based on a measurementreliability condition; wherein based on the measurement reportindicating that a reference signal received power of the cell is above aquality threshold associated with a timer, the method comprisingsignaling the user equipment to configure the communication with the atleast one measured cell without further measurements from the userequipment, wherein the signaling is causing a starting value 0 of thetimer, and wherein based on the measurement report indicating that areference signal received power of the cell is below a quality thresholdassociated with a timer, the user equipment is caused to stop and resetthe timer; wherein the information is based on a measurement report of acell with a best measurement reliability condition; wherein themeasurement reliability condition is based on a quality conditionpreconfigured by the network for the user equipment; wherein the qualitycondition is preconfigured for the user equipment by the network via oneof dedicated or broadcast signaling; wherein the information comprisesan indication of a duration of time of the measurement reliabilitycondition since a last measurement of the cell; and wherein at least theduration of time of the measurement reliability condition since the lastmeasurement of the cell is for use by the network to determine toconfigure a connection setup for the user equipment with the secondarycell without further measurements from the user equipment.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program code, theprogram code executed by at least one processor to perform at least themethod as described in the paragraphs above.

In an example aspect of the invention, there is an apparatus, such as anetwork side apparatus or base station apparatus, comprising: at leastone processor; and at least one memory including computer program code,where the at least one memory and the computer program code areconfigured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus toat least: receive by a network equipment information comprising ameasurement report from a user equipment which is waking from an idle orinactive state and seeking access to a serving cell communication,wherein the measurement report comprises an identification of a cellwhich met a communication quality threshold with the user equipmentwhile the user equipment was in the idle or inactive state; comparingthe measurement report received by the network equipment from the userequipment to a predetermined threshold value, wherein based on thecomparing the network equipment is caused to configure communicationwith the cell without further measurements from the user equipment,wherein based on the comparing the network equipment is caused toconfigure communication with the cell without further measurements fromthe user equipment; and send a signal from the network equipment to theuser equipment with instructions for the user equipment to configurecommunication with the cell without further measurements from the userequipment.

A further example embodiment is an apparatus comprising the apparatus ofthe previous paragraph, wherein the cell comprises a secondary cell, andwherein the communication quality threshold is based on a measurementreliability condition; wherein based on the measurement reportindicating that a reference signal received power of the cell is above aquality threshold associated with a timer, the method comprisingsignaling the user equipment to configure the communication with the atleast one measured cell without further measurements from the userequipment, wherein the signaling is causing a starting value 0 of thetimer, and wherein based on the measurement report indicating that areference signal received power of the cell is below a quality thresholdassociated with a timer, the user equipment is caused to stop and resetthe timer; wherein the information is based on a measurement report of acell with a best measurement reliability condition; wherein themeasurement reliability condition is based on a quality conditionpreconfigured by the network for the user equipment; wherein the qualitycondition is preconfigured for the user equipment by the network via oneof dedicated or broadcast signaling; wherein the information comprisesan indication of a duration of time of the measurement reliabilitycondition since a last measurement of the cell; and wherein at least theduration of time of the measurement reliability condition since the lastmeasurement of the cell is for use by the network to determine toconfigure a connection setup for the user equipment with the secondarycell without further measurements from the user equipment.

In another example aspect of the invention, there is an apparatuscomprising: means for receiving by a network equipment informationcomprising a measurement report from a user equipment which is wakingfrom an idle or inactive state and seeking access to a serving cellcommunication, wherein the measurement report comprises anidentification of a cell which met a communication quality thresholdwith the user equipment while the user equipment was in the idle orinactive state; means for comparing the measurement report received bythe network equipment from the user equipment to a predeterminedthreshold value, wherein based on the comparing the network equipment iscaused to configure communication with the cell without furthermeasurements from the user equipment, wherein based on the comparing thenetwork equipment is caused to configure communication with the cellwithout further measurements from the user equipment; and means forsending a signal from the network equipment to the user equipment withinstructions for the user equipment to configure communication with thecell without further measurements from the user equipment.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in the paragraphabove, at least the means for receiving, comparing, and sendingcomprises a network interface, and computer program code stored on acomputer-readable medium and executed by at least one processor.

A further example embodiment is an apparatus comprising the apparatus ofthe previous paragraph, wherein the cell comprises a secondary cell, andwherein the communication quality threshold is based on a measurementreliability condition; wherein based on the measurement reportindicating that a reference signal received power of the cell is above aquality threshold associated with a timer, the method comprisingsignaling the user equipment to configure the communication with the atleast one measured cell without further measurements from the userequipment, wherein the signaling is causing a starting value 0 of thetimer, and wherein based on the measurement report indicating that areference signal received power of the cell is below a quality thresholdassociated with a timer, the user equipment is caused to stop and resetthe timer; wherein the information is based on a measurement report of acell with a best measurement reliability condition; wherein themeasurement reliability condition is based on a quality conditionpreconfigured by the network for the user equipment; wherein the qualitycondition is preconfigured for the user equipment by the network via oneof dedicated or broadcast signaling; wherein the information comprisesan indication of a duration of time of the measurement reliabilitycondition since a last measurement of the cell; and wherein at least theduration of time of the measurement reliability condition since the lastmeasurement of the cell is for use by the network to determine toconfigure a connection setup for the user equipment with the secondarycell without further measurements from the user equipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other aspects of embodiments of this invention aremade more evident in the following Detailed Description, when read inconjunction with the attached Drawing Figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows an example of overall architecture of an E-UTRAN system;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a User Equipment (UE) andoverlapping cells;

FIG. 3 shows a simplified block diagram of devices which may beconfigured to perform operations in accordance with some embodiments ofthe invention; and

FIG. 4 shows UE extra power consumption as a function of theinter-frequency measurement periodicity;

FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7 each show an example of ASN.1 in accordancewith example embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 each show an illustration of operations in accordancewith example embodiments of the invention; and

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 each show a method in accordance with someembodiments which may be performed by an apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows an example of overall architecture of an E-UTRAN system.The E-UTRAN system includes eNBs, providing an E-UTRAN user plane(PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY) and control plane (RRC) protocol terminations towardsthe UE (not shown in FIG. 1). The eNBs are interconnected with eachother by means of an X2 interface. The eNBs are also connected by meansof a S1 interface to an EPC (Enhanced Packet Core), more specifically toa MME (Mobility Management Entity) by means of a S1 MME interface and toa Serving Gateway (S-GW) by means of a S1 interface. The S1 interfacesupports a many-to-many relationship between MMEs/S-GW and eNBs.

Referring also to FIG. 2, a UE 10 may be connected to more than one cellat a same time. In this example the UE 10 is connected to a first cell12 operated by a base station 13 (such as an eNB for example) and asecond 14 operated by another base station (such as an eNB or WiFi/WLANAccess Point for example). The two cells 12, 14 are, thus, at leastpartially overlapping. The first cell may operate on a licensed band andthe second cell may operate on a licensed or unlicensed band forexample. The first cell may be either a FDD cell or TDD cell forexample. For simplicity, there are just two cells depicted in thescenario for the UE 10 shown in FIG. 2. In other alternate examples anynumber of cells operating on licensed and/or unlicensed band(s) may beprovided to work together for a suitable Carrier Aggregation (CA) and/orDual Connectivity (DC) and/or aggregation of LTE and another RAT (forexample LTE-WLAN aggregation (LWA)), and/or any other suitable type ofradio access technology (RAT) aggregation. In one type of exampleembodiment the cells 12, 14 may be co-located. In another type ofexample embodiment the two base stations 13 and 15 may be co-locatedand/or consist of one base station only.

In general, the various embodiments of the UE 10 can include, but arenot limited to, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs)having wireless communication capabilities, portable computers havingwireless communication capabilities, image capture devices such asdigital cameras having wireless communication capabilities, gamingdevices having wireless communication capabilities, music storage andplayback appliances having wireless communication capabilities, Internetappliances permitting wireless Internet access and browsing, as well asportable units or terminals that incorporate combinations of suchfunctions.

Features as described herein may be used in relation to an LTE-Advancedsystem. More specifically, features as described herein may be used forLTE Carrier Aggregation (CA) operation including the newly developedfeature of Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), where the SCell may be usingunlicensed band for communication with the UE. Please note that featuresas described herein are not specifically for LAA (unlicensed bandoperation), but may be used for CA and/or DC and/or LTE-other RATaggregation, and/or any other suitable RAT aggregation operation ingeneral. In one type of example embodiment the carrier aggregationprinciple may assume LTE Rel-10/11/12/13 Carrier Aggregation scenariowith co-located cells and/or non-collocated cells connected with (closeto) ideal backhaul. The secondary cell(s) may be used for supplementaldownlink capacity only, or both downlink and uplink capacity.

Referring also to FIG. 3, in the wireless system 230 a wireless network235 is adapted for communication over a wireless link 232 with anapparatus, such as a mobile communication device which may be referredto as a UE 10, via a network access node, such as a Node B (basestation), and more specifically an eNB 13. The network 235 may include anetwork control element (NCE) 240 that may include MME/S-GWfunctionality, and which provides connectivity with a network, such as atelephone network and/or a data communications network (e.g., theinternet 238).

The UE 10 may include a controller, such as a computer or a dataprocessor (DP) 214, a computer-readable memory medium embodied as amemory (MEM) 216 that stores a program of computer instructions (PROG)218, and a suitable wireless interface, such as radio frequency (RF)transceiver 212, for bidirectional wireless communications with the eNB13 via one or more antennas.

The eNB 13 may also include a controller, such as a computer or a dataprocessor (DP) 224, a computer-readable memory medium embodied as amemory (MEM) 226 that stores a program of computer instructions (PROG)228, and a suitable wireless interface, such as RF transceiver 222, forcommunication with the UE 10 via one or more antennas. The eNB 13 may becoupled via a data/control path 234 to the NCE 240. The path 234 may beimplemented as an interface. The eNB 13 may also be coupled to anothereNB via data/control path 236, which may be implemented as an interface.

The NCE 240 may include a controller, such as a computer or a dataprocessor (DP) 244, a computer-readable memory medium embodied as amemory (MEM) 246 that stores a program of computer instructions (PROG)248.

At least one of the PROGs 218, 228 and 248 is assumed to include programinstructions that, when executed by the associated DP, enable the deviceto operate in accordance with exemplary embodiments of this invention,as will be discussed below in greater detail. That is, various exemplaryembodiments of this invention may be implemented at least in part bycomputer software executable by the DP 214 of the UE 10; by the DP 224of the eNB 13; and/or by the DP 244 of the NCE 240, or by hardware, orby a combination of software and hardware (and firmware). Base station15 may have the same type of components as the base station 13.

For the purposes of describing various exemplary embodiments inaccordance with this invention the UE 10 and the eNB 13 may also includededicated processors, for example RRC module 215 and a corresponding RRCmodule 225. RRC module 215 and RRC module 225 may be constructed so asto operate in accordance with various exemplary embodiments inaccordance with this invention.

The computer readable MEMs 216, 226 and 246 may be of any type suitableto the local technical environment and may be implemented using anysuitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memorydevices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, opticalmemory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The DPs214, 224 and 244 may be of any type suitable to the local technicalenvironment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers,special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors(DSPs) and processors based on a multicore processor architecture, asnon-limiting examples. The wireless interfaces (e.g., RF transceivers212 and 222) may be of any type suitable to the local technicalenvironment and may be implemented using any suitable communicationtechnology such as individual transmitters, receivers, transceivers or acombination of such components.

Features as described herein may be used to send a measurement report bythe UE (when transitioning from idle state or inactive state to aconnected state for example) containing information for each reportedcell (such as on the small cell carrier for example) related toreliability of the measurement. This may be, for example, for how longhas the UE measured that the cell has fulfilled a configured qualitycondition set by the eNB or some other network element (for example, viaa dedicated or broadcast signaling). This may allow the receiving eNB tobetter assess whether the UE reported information can be used forsetting up one or more SCells. Although examples described herein makereference to a small cell, it should be understood that features may beused in a cell other than a small cell. The description regarding asmall cell(s) is merely an example.

Features as described herein may be used in regard to Long TermEvolution (LTE) and New Radio (NR) and, in particular, to enabling afast cell access when a UE is transitioning from an idle state(including a suspended state for example) or inactive state to aconnected state. However, it should be noted that features as describedherein may be used in the future with other types of systems. Forexample, features may be used in a 5G network and in the NR (New Radio)and in relation with the future base stations of the 5G network,currently called as gNB. In addition, features may be used to enhancingthe setup of carrier aggregation (CA), dual connectivity (DC) or both.Features may also be used in regard to the new ongoing LTE Rel-15 WorkItem. See for example RP-161036, RP-161035, RP-161730, RP-161734 forfurther details on the work item (WI), and RP-170805 for the agreed workitem description (WID) on enhanced utilization of CA (euCA).

When the UE is in CA or DC mode (CA/DC), it can be connected to two ormore cells on separate carrier frequencies at a same time. For example,the UE could be connected to a macro cell and one or more other cells atthe same time (such as small cells for example), where the macro celland the other cell(s) are operating under separate carrier frequencies.When the UE's connection to its serving cell(s) is released orsuspended, the UE goes to an idle state or inactive state(idle/inactive) and drops the CA/DC mode because dropping the CA/DC modesaves power by stopping the monitoring of multiple carriers.

FIG. 4 illustrates how much extra power consumption is expected in idledue to the inter-frequency measurements for SCells. This considers as abasis for measurement periodicity to be one possible LTE paging cycle(1.28 s). Impact on UE power consumption is considered for differentinter-frequency SCell measurements cycles, i.e. for different amounts oftime the UE uses for obtaining measurement samples from the monitoredinter-frequency carrier(s). The assumption here is that UE can measureboth the serving cell and the inter-frequency carrier at the same timeand that measuring the inter-frequency carrier increases the powerconsumption by 50%. As it can be seen from FIG. 4, the less frequentlythe UE takes the measurement samples, the lower the power consumptionimpact. The highest power consumption happens if UE takes samples everymeasurement cycle and in that case that is of a maximum 50%, compared tothe IDLE mode power consumption.

In one example embodiment, the measurement report sent by the UE (whentransitioning from idle/inactive state to connected state) containsinformation for each reported cell (for example on the small cellcarrier) related to reliability of the measurement such as, for example,for how long the UE-measured cell has fulfilled a configured qualitycondition set by eNB implicitly (e.g. via the serving cell S-measurevalue, which indicates when the serving cell considers itself to be goodenough to not need neighbor cell measurements, which could be used alsocell quality definition for neighbor cells) or explicitly (for examplevia dedicated or broadcast signalling). This allows the eNB to betterassess whether the UE reported information can be used for setting upSCell(s).

In another example embodiment, the UE reports the reliabilityinformation just for the best cell on the carrier. In another exampleembodiment, the UE reports additionally the time since the latestmeasurement. In another example embodiment, the UE reports additionallythe time since the latest measurement when the cell was not fulfillingthe quality condition. In another example embodiment, the UE does notreport a cell unless a good quality connection has been available for asufficiently long time (based on measurement configuration from thenetwork). This embodiment moves the decision partly to the UE, thoughstill based on a network determined configuration. Based on thereliability information received from the UE, the network is able tobetter determine how reliable and stable is the UE's infrequentlyperformed best effort measurement of the cell carrier. For example, ifthe cell has fulfilled the quality condition for a certain amount oftime, such as minutes for example, the result can be considered reliableeven though the latest sample may be an older sample, for example 1minute old. In another example, if the latest measurement sample is onlyfor example 10 seconds old, but that the same cell did not fulfil thequality condition before, the UE is likely moving and, because the cellsize may be small (such as with a small cell for example), furthermeasurements may be done before attempting to configure/activate CA orDC in that cell. Thus, the information may also allow the network toestimate how mobile the UE is, similar to for example the existingmobility history reporting. However, here the network may be interestedin movement relative to potential target cells, not the macro cell layerwhere the UE may be typically camping. Thus, the mobility historyreporting regarding the macro cell layer is not enough here, as theinformation conveyed by it does not give necessary information if the UEis not reselecting the cells.

In another example embodiment, such as when the UE is released into anidle or inactive state due to traffic termination for example, the UEmay start a timer which can record for how long the cell/small cell isabove a quality threshold (for example RSRP>=X dB). This timer may beconfigured by the network, per cell for example. For example, when acell fulfils the entry configured condition (e.g. RSRP>X dB), a timermay be started from 0 (zero). It may then be stopped and reset if aconfigured leaving condition is fulfilled (such as RSRP<Y dB forexample). In an example embodiment, if the UE does not obtain anymeasurements for a configured timer period T, the timer may be stoppedand reset.

In one example when the connection is established or resumed, and the UEsends the measurement information, the UE might report only the cellsthat fulfil the condition (for example at least one of the cell/smallcell is above a quality threshold (e.g. RSRP>=X dB) or the cell/smallcell is under a quality threshold (e.g. RSRP<=Y dB)) (while the timer isrunning for example) and include information for how long they havefulfilled the condition.

When traffic is initiated (MO/MT), the UE may report to network themeasurement report with the measurements done while in idle/inactivestate, with the additional information on how long the UE stayed in aparticular cell (fulfilling the configured quality criteria).

This may provide information/knowledge on how stable the situation isbetween the UE and the non-Primary cell; for example derived from thenew measurement report. When the UE sends its measurement report to theeNB or other network element, if the cell has been changing recently(such as the UE is moving for example), the best effort measurement isless reliable than if the UE has been in the same cell for some time,for example for minutes. An example of this is shown in FIG. 9. The eNBmay make more use of the UE's best effort idle state measurement resultsof cells. If the measured cell has fulfilled the quality condition for alonger amount of time, there is very small risk in configuring the cellas for the UE right away compared to the situation where the cell hasbeen only recently detected by the UE.

Even though LTE was used to exemplify the proposed method, it should notbe regarded as the only way to implement it. LTE was used as an example,but in a similar way, also other radio technologies could be used asexample. For example 5G or new radio (NR) or WLAN or any other radiotechnology where such approach may be applied or applicable.

In RAN2 #99bis, it was agreed that the UE measurement configuration forIDLE could be given in either SIB5 or RRCConnectionRelease, as shownbelow:

-   -   1 The indication for which carrier(s) UE could do the IDLE        measurements is included in SIB5 and dedicated RRC signaling        (including the valid timer). FFS the value range of the timer.    -   2 UE indicates the availability of inter-frequency measurements        in RRCConnectionSetupComplete or RRCConnectionResumeComplete

For example, in LTE the RRC information element (IE)SystemInformationBlockType5 (SIB5) contains neighbor cell relatedinformation for inter-frequency cell-reselection i.e. the informationabout neighbor E-UTRA frequencies. In this case, SIB5 includes neighborcell list, carrier frequency, cell reselection priority, threshold usedby the UE when reselecting a higher/lower priority frequency than thecurrent serving frequency etc. It also contains a list of blacklistedinter-frequency neighboring cells.

When SIB5 is used for indicating IDLE mode measurements are desired, theinformation is broadcast to all UEs and, therefore, could be potentiallyused by UEs that do not need to do so. In addition, the informationshould be compact enough to avoid lot of overhead, yet provide enoughinformation to allow UE and network to benefit from the measurements.Also, the UE actions upon receiving the measurements should bespecified, including what happens when the (already agreed) validitytimer for the measurements expires. Therefore, the following questionsare still not discussed in 3GPP:

-   -   To which UEs does the SIB5 configuration apply?    -   Exactly what information is necessary to broadcast?    -   When receiving the broadcast information, what does the UE do?    -   After the validity timer expires, what happens to the UE        measurements?

SIB applicability to UEs: Only UEs that are capable of the Rel-15 orlater functionality will do anything with the broadcast information.However, depending on use case, this could still prove to be significantnumber of UEs, with possibly some impact to UE battery life if thenumber of measurement periods are very large. Therefore, the UEmeasurement time could be limited via some means to ensure good UE powerconsumption, while still receiving benefits from the IDLE modemeasurements.

Because measurements done based on SIB5 may affect a large number ofUEs, one way to limit this is to limit the UEs that apply the rules. Forother SIB-related actions, this is typically done randomly (e.g. withACB or load re-distribution), but that would simply randomize thebenefits and likely not help system performance. Even having all UEsobey the procedures would likely still provide better benefits, as atleast then the UEs could have the best possibility to utilize CA.Another possibility would be that only UEs that have already been in aCONNECTED state might utilize the information, to ensure that onlycertain UEs do the measurements (which would help to also mitigate anypower consumption issues arising from the new procedures).

An efficient way to limit UE power consumption may be to only have UEsthat have been released from a CONNECTED state to an IDLE state domeasurements based on SIB5. Alternatively, UEs could be doing (much)more restricted measurements based on SIB5 broadcast. For example, theSIB5 broadcast might only indicate a few cells (e.g. 8) per carrierfrequency, and the maximum number of measured carriers could also belimited such as up to three carriers for example (i.e. the typical LTEmaximum measurement capability for inter-frequency carriers in IDLEmode). In one example embodiment the information that can be broadcastin SIB5 should be limited to at most 3 inter-frequencies and at most 8cells per carrier frequency. An example of ASN.1 for this is shown inFIG. 5.

Compared to the UE actions based on the SIB5 broadcast, the situationfor the UE and the network is slightly different when conveying theinformation to UE using the RRC message RRCConnectionRelease. The UEcapabilities are known at the time of sending the message by the eNB andthe eNB has an active signaling connection with the UE, thus being ableto provide much more information than would typically ever be broadcast.Thus, it would even be possible for the UE to retain the whole CAconfiguration it has used prior to being moved to IDLE if so desired.Like with MDT logged measurements, the information could also be givento the UE prior to the connection release.

There are far fewer limitations to information given to the UE prior toRRCConnectionRelease compared to SIB5 broadcast. This is somewhatsimilar to the suspension of RRC connection, which was also agreed to becovered in RAN2 #99bis agreements. Since the UE already stores most ofthe Access Stratum (AS) context and RRC configuration, that could beextended to this case as well. The UE could be provided with a much moredetailed measurement configuration, or the previous CA configurationcould even be used partly or fully for measurements while within thesame serving cell.

Doing measurements based on previous CA configuration while within thesame serving cell would provide a good basis for CA operation. The UEcan be provided with a “CA measurement configuration” withinRRCConnectionRelease that is different from SIB5 configuration, andwhich overrides any SIB5 configurations. An example of ASN.1 for this isshown in FIG. 6.

In some cases, the UE is not performing or is unable to perform the samemeasurements during the IDLE mode as it would during the CONNECTED mode.For example, measurements based on neighbor cell reference signals forexample CSI-RS may not seem reasonable as they require both a servingcell time reference (which could come from serving cell) as well asknowledge that the CSI-RS are being transmitted; all of which might bedynamic. Therefore, the simplest may be to only enable RSRP, RSRQ andRS-SINR based on CRS to be reported. Thus, in one example embodimentonly CRS-based measurements (RSRP/RSRQ/RS-SINR) are supported for IDLEmode measurements. The network might also only be interested in certainmetric, such as RSRP only for example. Therefore, it may be possible tosignal which of the measurement quantities are being requested from theUE.

In one example embodiment the network may indicate which measurementquantities out of RSRP, RSRQ and RS-SINR UE should report for IDLE modemeasurements. Since the UE measurement cycle is also infrequent it mayalso be good to understand how much the measurements vary over time.This may also then tell the eNB whether the UE is for example stationaryor semi-stationary, or moving; which may affect the policy of setting upCA or DC or multi-connectivity (MC). For example, stationary UEs mayhave better gains from CA/DC/MC in good coverage. Therefore, the UE maybe requested to also indicate the time or duration when the measurementshave been within given bounds; in a similar manner as for example atime-to-trigger is used in CONNECTED mode measurements. Hence, whendoing IDLE mode measurements the UE may, for example, maintain the timethat records how long a measured cell has been above a threshold value(for example RSRP>=X dB). This may then be reported to network, percell, to indicate whether the recent measurements have been stable.

In one type of example, the UE can be requested to log the time duringwhich a measured cell has been above a threshold value (such as similarto measurement event A1 for example from LTE or some other measurementevent similar to A1). Further, the UE may be requested to only reportcells that fulfill the given condition (such as because the eNB wouldonly use good enough cells for CA/DC/MC purpose for example). As anexample, the ASN.1 for this is shown in FIG. 7 showing theserestrictions to IDLE mode measurements.

Referring also to FIG. 8, an example of restricting IDLE modemeasurements by candidate cell quality is shown. In this example, whenthe UE 10 is in an idle state, the UE may monitor and measure theconfigured cell(s), which are in this figure referred to as SCellsdespite not yet being configured to the UE as SCells; in this caseSCell_1 and SCell_2 as shown by 50 and 52. At 50 the UE monitors andmeasures the configured small cell SCell_1 on frequency f₁, and thenstores the cell as a valid cell, including time when a condition holds,if the condition RSRP (SCell_1) is greater than a threshold (Thr1). At52 the UE monitors and measures the configured small cell SCell_2 onfrequency f₂, and then stores the cell as a valid cell, including timewhen a condition holds, if the condition RSRP (SCell_2) is greater thana threshold (Thr2). In this example, as illustrated by block 54, cellSCell_1 meets its threshold, but cell SCell_2 does not meet itsthreshold. After user traffic (for example mobile originated (MO)traffic) starts, there is a connection setup 56 between the eNB 13 andthe UE 10. As illustrated by block 58, the UE 10 may then create areport of the cell (SCell_1) that fulfilled the qualitycondition/threshold on the configured small cell carriers, and then sendthe report to the eNB as indicated by 60. The measurement report in thisexample would not include SCell_2. The UE may include in the report thetime duration each cell has fulfilled the quality condition.

As indicated by 62 the network, such as the eNB 13, may compareinformation from the report to determine that the SCell_1 meets thecondition for CA, and signal 64 the UE for configuring communicationwith the SCell_1 without waiting for further measurements. Trafficbetween the UE and the determined secondary cell (SCell_1) may thenstart as indicated by 66.

Referring back to FIG. 9, in this example, when the UE is in an idlestate, the UE may monitor and measure the configured cell(s); in thiscase SCell_1 and SCell_2 as shown by 100 and 102. After user traffic(e.g. mobile originated (MO) traffic) starts 104, there is a connectionsetup 106 between the eNB 13 and the UE 10. As illustrated by block 108,the UE 10 may then create a report of the cells that fulfill the qualitycondition on the configured cell carriers (CF1 and CF2 in this example),and then sends the report to the eNB as indicated by 110. The UE mayinclude in the report the time each cell has fulfilled the qualitycondition.

As indicated by 112 the network, such as the eNB 13, may compareinformation from the report to predetermined thresholds, and signal 114the UE for configuring communication with one or more predetermined onesof the SCell(s) without waiting for further measurements. Trafficbetween the UE and the determined secondary cell(s) may then start asindicated by 116.

With features as described herein, limited additional UE measurementsmay be introduced during a idle/inactive mode of the UE to enable fastercell setup (e.g. in CA or DC sense) after connectionestablishment/resume such as for enCA for example. Features as describedherein may be used to provide a balance in the amount of measurementsthe UE does versus power use while in that power saving state. Thus,features as described herein may be used to make the most out ofinfrequent cell (or the cell carrier) measurements performed by the UEin the idle/inactive state with the least amount of power use. Unlikeconventional measurement reports, the information used for the UE'smeasurement report may be old or obsolete in regard to standardconnection measurements used by the eNB and UE. The value or usefulnessof these old measurement result may depend on whether the UE is movingand, if it is moving, how fast it is moving.

Conventionally, a UE in a “connected” state may be in e.g. a small celllayer (or dual connected) to obtain better performance, and the UE in aidle/inactive state may be in the macro layer to reduce the measurementand signaling burden associated with cell reselections. Conventionally,a UE would not continue inter-frequency measurements frequently forlonger periods of time. With features as described herein, relevantinformation from the UE may be provide to the Primary Cell with a newtype of measurement report when MO/MT traffic is initiated in order toachieve a fast cell access.

As illustrated by the example in FIG. 10, an example method may comprisemeasuring, by a user equipment such as the UE 10 as in FIG. 3, acommunication quality with at least one measured cell of a communicationnode while the user equipment is in an idle or inactive state asillustrated by block 130; upon the user equipment transitioning to aconnected state (due to e.g. mobile originated (MO) activity of the userequipment), determining by the user equipment that the communicationquality with the cell meets a threshold as illustrated by block 132; andtransmitting a measurement report from the user equipment to a networkequipment that the cell meets the threshold for the network equipment tosignal the user equipment to configure communication with the cellwithout further measurements from the user equipment as illustrated byblock 134.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, the user equipment may configure the measurementreport with a duration of time in which the cell has met the threshold.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein the at least one measured cell comprises asecondary cell, and wherein the communication quality is based on ameasurement reliability condition.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein the information is based on a measurementreport of a cell of the at least one measured cell with a bestmeasurement reliability condition.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein the measurement reliability condition isdetermined based on a quality condition preconfigured by the network forthe user equipment.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein the quality condition is preconfigured for theuser equipment by the network via one of dedicated or broadcastsignaling.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein the duration of time is related to areliability condition of the measurement report comprising a duration oftime since a last measurement of the cell.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein the duration of time is since a lastmeasurement when the cell was not fulfilling the configured qualitycondition.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein upon the user equipment transitioning to theconnected state there is starting, by the user equipment, a timer torecord the duration of time that the communication quality with the atleast one measured cell has met the threshold.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein the timer is configured by the network for theuser equipment.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein the timer is stopped based on one of the userequipment leaving the idle or inactive state, and based on the userequipment not obtaining measurements during the length of time.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium (MEM 216 as in FIG. 3) storingprogram code (PROG 218 as in FIG. 3), the program code executed by atleast one processor (DP 214 and/or RRC Module 215 as in FIG. 3) toperform the operations as at least described in the paragraphs above.

In accordance with an example embodiment of the invention as describedabove there is an apparatus comprising: means for measuring (MEM 216,PROG 218, DP 214 and/or RRC Module 215 as in FIG. 3), by a userequipment (UE 10 as in FIG. 3), a communication quality with at leastone measured cell of a communication node (eNB 13 as in FIG. 3) whilethe user equipment (UE 10 as in FIG. 3) is in an idle or inactive state;means, upon the user equipment (UE 10 as in FIG. 3) for transitioning(radio frequency (RF) transceiver 212, MEM 216, PROG 218, DP 214 and/orRRC Module 215 as in FIG. 3) to a connected state, determining (radiofrequency (RF) transceiver 212, MEM 216, PROG 218, DP 214 and/or RRCModule 215 as in FIG. 3) by the user equipment (UE 10 as in FIG. 3) thatthe communication quality with the at least one measured cell is largerthan a threshold; and means for transmitting (radio frequency (RF)transceiver 212, MEM 216, PROG 218, DP 214 and/or RRC Module 215 as inFIG. 3) information comprising a measurement report from the userequipment (UE 10 as in FIG. 3) to a network equipment (eNB 13 as in FIG.3) that the at least one measured cell meets the threshold for thenetwork equipment to signal the user equipment (UE 10 as in FIG. 3) toconfigure (radio frequency (RF) transceiver 212, MEM 216, PROG 218, DP214 and/or RRC Module 215 as in FIG. 3) communication with the at leastone measured cell without further measurements from the user equipment(UE 10 as in FIG. 3).

In the example aspect of the invention according to the paragraph above,wherein at least the means for measuring, transitioning, andtransmitting comprises a non-transitory computer readable medium [MEM216 as in FIG. 3] encoded with a computer program [PROG 218 as in FIG.3] executable by at least one processor [DP 214 and/or RRC Module 215 asin FIG. 3].

In accordance with an example embodiment, an example computer programproduct is provided, such as memory 215 shown in FIG. 3 for example,comprising program instructions which, when loaded into the userequipment, execute the method described above.

In accordance with an example embodiment, an apparatus is providedcomprising at least one processor; and at least one non-transitorymemory including computer program code, the at least one memory and thecomputer program code configured to, with the at least one processor,cause the apparatus to: measure, by the apparatus, a communicationquality with at least one measured cell of a communication node whilethe apparatus is in an idle or inactive state, where the apparatuscomprises a user equipment; upon the user equipment transitioning to aconnected mode (e.g. due to mobile originated (MO) activity of the userequipment), determine by the user equipment that the communicationquality with the cell meets a threshold; and transmit a measurementreport from the user equipment to a network equipment that the cellmeets the threshold for the network equipment to signal the userequipment to configure communication with the cell without furthermeasurements from the user equipment.

The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configuredto, with the at least one processor, cause the user equipment toconfigure the measurement report with a duration of time in which thecell has met the threshold.

As illustrated by the example in FIG. 11, an example method may comprisereceiving by a network equipment (such as the eNB 13 as in FIG. 3) ameasurement report from a user equipment which is waking from an idle orinactive state and seeking access to a serving cell communication,wherein the measurement report comprises an identification of a cellwhich met a communication quality threshold with the user equipmentwhile the user equipment was in the idle or inactive state asillustrated by block 136; comparing the measurement report received bythe network equipment from the user equipment to a predeterminedthreshold value, wherein based on the comparing the network equipment iscaused to configure communication with the cell without furthermeasurements from the user equipment as illustrated by block 138; andsending a signal from the network equipment to the user equipment withinformation for the user equipment to configure communication with thecell without further measurements from the user equipment as illustratedby block 140. In accordance with an example embodiment, an examplecomputer program product is provided, such as memory 226 shown in FIG. 3for example, comprising program instructions which, when loaded into theuser equipment, execute the method described above.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in the paragraphabove, wherein the cell comprises a secondary cell, and wherein thecommunication quality threshold is based on a measurement reliabilitycondition.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein based on the measurement report indicatingthat a reference signal received power of the cell is above a qualitythreshold associated with a timer, the method comprising signaling theuser equipment to configure the communication with the at least onemeasured cell without further measurements from the user equipment,wherein the signaling is causing a starting value 0 of the timer, andwherein based on the measurement report indicating that a referencesignal received power of the cell is below a quality thresholdassociated with a timer, the user equipment is caused to stop and resetthe timer.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein the information is based on a measurementreport of a cell with a best measurement reliability condition.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein the measurement reliability condition is basedon a quality condition preconfigured by the network for the userequipment.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein the quality condition is preconfigured for theuser equipment by the network via one of dedicated or broadcastsignaling.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein the information comprises an indication of aduration of time of the measurement reliability condition since a lastmeasurement of the cell.

In accordance with the example embodiments as described in theparagraphs above, wherein at least the duration of time of themeasurement reliability condition since the last measurement of the cellis for use by the network to determine to configure a connection setupfor the user equipment with the secondary cell without furthermeasurements from the user equipment.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium (MEM 226 as in FIG. 3) storingprogram code (PROG 228 as in FIG. 3), the program code executed by atleast one processor (DP 224 and/or RRC Module 225 as in FIG. 3) toperform the operations as at least described in the paragraphs above.

In accordance with an example embodiment of the invention as describedabove there is an apparatus comprising: means for receiving (radiofrequency (RF) transceiver 222, MEM 226, PROG 228, DP 224 and/or RRCModule 225 as in FIG. 3) by a network equipment (eNB 13 as in FIG. 3)information comprising a measurement report from a user equipment (UE 10as in FIG. 3) which is waking from an idle or inactive state and seekingaccess to a serving cell communication, wherein the measurement reportcomprises an identification of a cell which met a communication qualitythreshold with the user equipment while the user equipment was in theidle or inactive state; comparing (radio frequency (RF) transceiver 222,MEM 226, PROG 228, DP 224 and/or RRC Module 225 as in FIG. 3) themeasurement report received by the network equipment (eNB 13 as in FIG.3) from the user equipment (UE 10 as in FIG. 3) to a predeterminedthreshold value; and sending (radio frequency (RF) transceiver 222, MEM226, PROG 228, DP 224 and/or RRC Module 225 as in FIG. 3) a signal fromthe network equipment (eNB 12 as in FIG. 3) to the user equipment (UE 10as in FIG. 3) with instructions for the user equipment to configurecommunication with the cell without further measurements from the userequipment.

In the example aspect of the invention according to the paragraph above,wherein at least the means for receiving, comparing, and sendingcomprises a non-transitory computer readable medium [MEM 226 as in FIG.3] encoded with a computer program [FROG 228 as in FIG. 3] executable byat least one processor [DP 224 and/or RRC Module 225 as in FIG. 3].

An example embodiment may be provided in an apparatus comprising: atleast one processor [DP 224 and/or RRC Module 225 as in FIG. 3]; and atleast one non-transitory memory [MEM 226 as in FIG. 3] includingcomputer program code [FROG 228 as in FIG. 3], the at least one memoryand the computer program code configured to, with the at least oneprocessor, cause the apparatus to: receive by the apparatus ameasurement report from a user equipment which is waking from an idle orinactive state and seeking access to a serving cell communication, wherethe apparatus comprises a network equipment, and wherein the measurementreport comprises an identification of a cell which met a communicationquality threshold with the user equipment while the user equipment wasin the idle or inactive state; compare the measurement report receivedby the network equipment from the user equipment to a predeterminedthreshold value, wherein based on the comparing the network equipment iscaused to configure communication with the cell without furthermeasurements from the user equipment; and send a signal from the networkequipment to the user equipment with information for the user equipmentto configure communication with the cell without further measurementsfrom the user equipment.

An example apparatus may comprise means for measuring, by a userequipment [e.g., UE 10 as in FIG. 3], a communication quality with atleast one cell of a communication node [e.g., eNB 13 as in FIG. 3] whilethe user equipment is in an idle or inactive state; means for, upon theuser equipment transitioning to a connected state (for example due tomobile originated (MO) activity of the user equipment), determining bythe user equipment that the communication quality with the cell meets athreshold; and means for transmitting a measurement report from the userequipment to a network equipment that the cell meets the threshold forthe network equipment to signal the user equipment to configurecommunication with the cell without further measurements from the userequipment.

An example apparatus may comprise means for receiving by a networkequipment a measurement report from a user equipment which is wakingfrom an idle or inactive state and seeking access to a cellcommunication, wherein the measurement report comprises anidentification of a cell which met a communication quality thresholdwith the user equipment while the user equipment was in the idle orinactive state; means for comparing the measurement report received bythe network equipment from the user equipment to a predeterminedthreshold value, wherein based on the comparing the network equipment iscaused to configure communication with the cell without furthermeasurements from the user equipment; and means for sending a signalfrom the network equipment to the user equipment with information forthe user equipment to configure communication with the cell withoutfurther measurements from the user equipment.

It should be understood that the foregoing description is onlyillustrative. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised bythose skilled in the art. For example, features recited in the variousdependent claims could be combined with each other in any suitablecombination(s). In addition, features from different embodimentsdescribed above could be selectively combined into a new embodiment.Accordingly, the description is intended to embrace all suchalternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: measuring, by a userequipment, a communication quality with at least one measured cell of acommunication node while the user equipment is in an idle or inactivestate; in response to the user equipment transitioning to a connectedstate, determining by the user equipment that the communication qualitywith the at least one measured cell meets a threshold; in response tothe user equipment transitioning to the connected state, starting, bythe user equipment, a timer to record a duration of time that thecommunication quality with the at least one measured cell has met thethreshold; and transmitting information comprising a measurement reportfrom the user equipment to a network equipment, where the information,that the at least one measured cell meets the threshold, is configuredto be used by the network equipment to signal the user equipment toconfigure communication with the at least one measured cell withoutfurther measurements from the user equipment, wherein the measurementreport comprises a duration of time in which the at least one measuredcell has met the threshold.
 2. The method as in claim 1, wherein the atleast one measured cell comprises a secondary cell, and wherein thecommunication quality is based on a measurement reliability condition.3. The method as in claim 2, wherein the information is based on ameasurement report of a cell of the at least one measured cell with abest measurement reliability condition.
 4. An apparatus, comprising: atleast one processor; and at least one non-transitory memory includingcomputer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computerprogram code are configured, with the at least one processor, to causethe apparatus to at least: measure, by a user equipment, a communicationquality with at least one measured cell of a communication node whilethe user equipment is in an idle or inactive state; in response to theuser equipment transitioning to a connected state, determine by the userequipment that the communication quality with the at least one measuredcell meets a threshold; in response to the user equipment transitioningto the connected state, start, by the user equipment, a timer to recordthe duration of time that the communication quality with the at leastone measured cell has met the threshold; and transmit informationcomprising a measurement report from the user equipment to a networkequipment, where the information, that the at least one measured cellmeets the threshold, is configured to be used by the network equipmentto signal the user equipment to configure communication with the atleast one measured cell without further measurements from the userequipment, wherein the measurement report comprises a duration of timein which the at least one measured cell has met the threshold.
 5. Theapparatus as in claim 4, wherein the at least one measured cellcomprises a secondary cell, and wherein the communication quality isbased on a measurement reliability condition.
 6. The apparatus as inclaim 5, wherein the information is based on a measurement report of acell of the at least one measured cell with a best measurementreliability condition.
 7. The apparatus as in claim 6, wherein themeasurement reliability condition is determined based on a qualitycondition preconfigured by the network for the user equipment.
 8. Theapparatus as in claim 7, wherein the quality condition is preconfiguredfor the user equipment by the network via one of dedicated or broadcastsignaling.
 9. The apparatus as in claim 6, wherein the duration of timeis related to a reliability condition of the measurement reportcomprising a duration of time since a last measurement of the cell. 10.The apparatus of claim 9, and wherein the duration of time is since alast measurement when the cell was not fulfilling the configured qualitycondition.
 11. The apparatus as in claim 4, wherein the timer isconfigured by the network for the user equipment.
 12. The apparatus asin claim 4, wherein the timer is stopped based on one of the userequipment leaving the idle or inactive state, and based on the userequipment not obtaining measurements during the length of time.
 13. Themethod as in claim 1, wherein the measurement reliability condition isdetermined based on a quality condition preconfigured by the network forthe user equipment.
 14. The method as in claim 13, wherein the qualitycondition is preconfigured for the user equipment by the network via oneof dedicated or broadcast signaling.
 15. The method as in claim 1,wherein the duration of time is related to a reliability condition ofthe measurement report comprising a duration of time since a lastmeasurement of the cell.
 16. The method as in claim 15, wherein theduration of time is since a last measurement when the cell was notfulfilling the configured quality condition.
 17. The method as in claim1, wherein the timer is configured by the network for the userequipment.
 18. The method as in claim 1, wherein the timer is stoppedbased on one of the user equipment leaving the idle or inactive state,and based on the user equipment not obtaining measurements during thelength of time.